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Few intellectual tyrannies can be more recalcitrant than the truths that everybody knows and nearly no one can defend with any decent data (for who needs proof of anything so obvious). And few intellectual activities can be more salutary than attempts to find out whether these rocks of ages might crumble at the slightest tap of an informational hammer.

— Stephen Jay Gould Full House (1996)

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More quotes by Stephen Jay Gould

If there is any consistent enemy of science, it is not religion, but irrationalism.

Ever Since Darwin (1977)

Great theories are expansive; failures mire us in dogmatism and tunnel vision.

Eight Little Piggies (1993)

Details are all that matters: God dwells there, and you never get to see Him if you don't struggle to get them right.

Eight Little Piggies (1993)

The world, unfortunately, rarely matches our hopes and consistently refuses to behave in a reasonable manner.

The Panda's Thumb (1980)

The study of social setting does not imply either the irrelevance or nonexistence of a factual world out there.

An Urchin in the Storm (1987)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Stephen Jay Gould (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.